Plainsmen weather storm, outlast Herd 72-55 for key 4-4A victory

Tuesday

Monterey opened the second half of District 4-4A action in a three-way tie for third place and two games out of first with five to play.

So starting out the second half with a win was absolutely critical. Luckily for the Plainsmen, they opened the second half with the team they beat by 27 the first time through the order.

It didn't look as easy at times Tuesday night at the New Box, but in the end the result was basically the same as the Plainsmen swept the season series from the Whitefaces and improved to 3-3 in district play with a 72-55 victory.

"I think we came out and did our job in the first half," Plainsmen coach David Chapman said. "Our image is to get teams down and let them back in. But I was proud of the way we weathered the storm. We've got to work on the part about letting them back in, but basketball is a crazy game."

The Plainsmen (12-14) appeared as if they would run away and hide with the game like they did in the Jan. 15 matchup in Hereford. But the Whitefaces (9-14, 1-5) had other ideas, starting the second half on an 11-0 run to close to within five at 43-38 with 4:49 left in the period.

And Monterey was forced to play somewhat shorthanded. Starting guard Zach Dayton is out with a hand injury, and Chapman's other starting guard, A.J. Ledesma, left early in the second quarter with a leg injury and did not return.

But that allowed others to step up, and none were bigger than Devin McMillian, who had four points in an 8-0 run that allowed Monterey to answer Hereford's start to the third period and re-establish a double-digit lead, 59-42, to start the fourth quarter.

"I just tried to come off the bench and give the guys some energy and be as aggressive as possible," said McMillian, who finished with a game-high 22 points with five rebounds. "The guys were giving me the ball in some good spots where I could score the basketball like I wanted to. We were executing properly and I was just trying to be active on defense."

Monterey was never seriously threatened from there. Hereford closed to within 63-50 early in the fourth, but Monterey answered with eight straight points for a 70-50 lead with 4:36 remaining in the game and cruised from there.

"We've had several games this year where we didn't come back," Chapman said. "Tonight we did and we fought through the storm and hung in there. I was proud of the way we played at the end."

Landry Miller added 11 points for the Plainsmen while David McGinnis had 10.

Brandon Walker had 15 points off the bench for the Herd while Aaron Bedolla had 13, including four 3-pointers.

"This was a huge win," McMillian said. "We're right in the middle of the pack. I think this puts us back on the right track. We're going to go out Friday and give Frenship a hard time and see where we are from there."

The Plainsmen shot the ball extremely well to begin the game, focusing on their inside game despite the presence of 6-foot-5 Herd center Nate Cabezuela, who had a three first-half blocks but only two points.

The strategy worked as Monterey converted some easy looks in the paint, and the shots that didn't fall usually resulted in a trip to the free-throw line. Monterey made the most of their trips to the charity stripe, hitting on a perfect 13 for 13 in the first half.

Monterey also got contributions from up and down its lineup, which proved crucial with guard Zach Dayton already out with a hand injury and guard A.J. Ledesma leaving early in the second quarter with a leg injury.

Devin McMillian came off the bench to score 15 points to lead all scorers, while Caden Brown hit 5 of 5 free throws for seven first-half points.

Monterey picked up where it left off from the first game against Hereford, a 27-point win by the Plainsmen. Monterey scored the first nine points of the game, then used a 10-0 run later in the first period for a 19-3 lead with just over a minute left.

But Hereford would not go away easy, closing the quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the Monterey lead to single digits.

Monterey, however, quickly re-established the double-digit lead, scoring six of the first eight points of the second quarter and never trailing by less than 11 the rest of the period en route to a 43-27 halftime lead. McMillian had 10 of his points in the final 2:39 of the quarter.